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GODDARD, Kan. | Shawnee Mission East freshman Ross Guignon’s eyes grew wide as he watched his opponent’s shot sail to his left.
And when the ball finally landed out of bounds, effectively cementing a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory by him and fellow freshman Sam Amrein over Jason Lepse and Bronson Brassel of Topeka Washburn Rural in the quarterfinals of the 6A state tennis tournament, he pumped his fist and let out a yell — braces and all.
But he was hardly the only one yelling. A small crowd of SM East supporters joined in, especially because they knew something Amrein and Guignon didn’t know at the time: that their victory — barring any unforeseen circumstances — effectively clinched the state team title for the Lancers.
That’s right. Amrein and Guignon’s victory capped a day in which SM East had one singles player (junior Chris Fotopoulos) and another doubles team (senior Jack Peterson and sophomore P.J. Guignon) qualify for today’s semifinals at Goddard High School.
But with SM East guaranteed to get one doubles team into the finals — both square off in today’s semifinals — the lowest team score the Lancers can get is 34. That would still top Blue Valley North, their next closest competitor, which has only two entrants in the semifinals and can score a maximum of 32 points.
It didn’t take long for the SM East supporters to realize this. But once it became reality, the celebration was basically on — especially once Amrein and Guignon found out what they helped accomplish.
“It’s such a great feeling to know that you can come back and win a match like that,” Amrein said.
But while SM East seems primed to take the team crown, several other local players turned in strong performances. The singles semifinals will be dominated by players from Kansas City-area teams. Fotopoulos will take on SM North junior Kevin Moore on one side of the bracket while BV West freshman Max Helgeson battled through a wrist injury and set up a semifinal match against BV North freshman Jack Sock.
Sock, who is 15-0, perhaps had the toughest quarterfinal draw of them all when he took on Olathe Northwest senior J.T. Christian, the 2006 6A state champion. But Sock used an aggressive style to control the match and take a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
However, BV North’s doubles team of senior Hank Lee and junior Eric Sock refused to be outdone by their younger teammate. Lee and Sock, who entered the tournament with a 22-1 record, lost only four games in the two matches they won on Friday.
Now Lee and Sock will face seniors Ramon Nola and Matt Van Horn of Goddard in the semifinals today, while both of SM East’s doubles teams will face off for the right to play for the state title.
“This is the best (Friday) could have gone for us,” Peterson said. “I’m so happy.”
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